TIME AND FUEL CONSUMPTION FOR HIGHWAY USER BENEFIT STUDIES

TIME SAVINGS AND FUEL SAVINGS ARE TWO OF THE MORE IMPORTANT BENEFITS THAT ACCRUE TO USERS THROUGH HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENT. USER TIME SAVINGS RESULT WHENEVER HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS REDUCE TRAVEL DISTANCE, PERMIT HIGHER SPEEDS, OR REDUCE THE FREQUENCY OF STOP-AND-GO AND SLOWDOWN MANEUVERS. USER FUEL SAVINGS ACCRUE WHEN IMPROVEMENTS REDUCE TRAVEL DISTANCE, MITIGATE ANY OF THE RESISTANCES ENCOUNTERED BY MOVING VEHICLES, OR REDUCE THE FREQUENCY OF STOP-AND-GO AND SLOWDOWN OPERATIONS. THE REDUCTION OF TRAVEL DISTANCE, FREQUENCY STOP-AND-GO AND SLOWDOWN EVENTS, AND RESISTANCE TO MOVEMENT, AS WELL AS INCREASE IN SPEED, RESULTING FROM HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS CAN BE ESTIMATED FROM DATA AVAILABLE IN PUBLISHED REPORTS AND BY MAKING TRAFFIC STUDIES AT LOCATIONS WHERE IMPROVEMENTS ARE PLANNED. HOWEVER, INFORMATION ON CURRENT SAVINGS IN TIME AND FUEL USE ASSOCIATED WITH THESE EFFECTS OF HIGHWAY IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN INSUFFICIENT FOR BENEFIT ANALYSES. DURING THE SUMMER OF 1959 THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS CONDUCTED A STUDY OF PASSENGER CARS AND SINGLE-UNIT TRUCKS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF VARIATION OF PAVEMENT SURFACE TYPE AND OPERATING SPEEDS ON FUEL CONSUMPTION, AND THE EFFECT OF THE ELIMINATION OF BOTH A STOP-AND-GO AND A SLOWDOWN OPERATION ON FUEL AND TIME CONSUMPTION AT VARIOUS OPERATING SPEEDS. THIS STUDY ALSO INCLUDED THE DETERMINATION OF THE FUEL CONSUMED WHILE VEHICLES ARE STOPPED WITH ENGINE IDLING. THE RESULTS OF THIS INVESTIGATION ARE PRESENTED IN THIS REPORT IN GRAPHICAL AND TABULAR FORM. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/276/276-002.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 276, pp 20-34, 7 FIG, 2 TAB, 7 REF Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Claffey, Paul J
• Conference:
  • 39th Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 1960-1-11 to 1960-1-15
• Publication Date: 1960

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: 15p
• Monograph Title: Motor vehicle time and fuel consumption
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 276
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Benefit cost analysis; Fuel consumption; Graphics; Highways; Improvements; Operating speed; Travel time; Trucks; User benefits
• Uncontrolled Terms: Graphical analysis
• Subject Areas: Economics; Energy; Highways; Motor Carriers; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00222836
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 19 1994 12:00AM